The present invention relates to chewing gum bases and methods for producing them. More particularly, the invention relates to an improvement in the flavor profile of synthetic chewing gum bases.
A major ingredient of chewing gum is the gum base, i.e. the insoluble portion of the gum which remains in the mouth and has a pleasant chewing texture.
Since the late 1800's chewing gum has been manufactured with a gum base containing chicle. To this day, chicle is still produced from the latex of the red and white Sapodilla trees which grow in the rain forests of Mexico and Guatemala. Although the supply of chicle is regulated by the governments of these countries, the supply of chicle has become more and more scarce in the last decade due to the fact that replanting efforts have been unsuccessful. In the article "Use of Terpene Resins as Basic Chewing Gum Components" by Y. Sata et al., published in Soko no Kagaku, Vol. 93, pp. 82-89, 1985, it was estimated that the amount of chicle exported in 1984 was only 22 percent of that exported in 1975.
Other natural resins have also been used in the manufacture of gum base. For example jelutong and Sorva are natural resins collected from trees of the family Apocynaceae grown in Southeast Asia. Other natural resins include nispero, tunu, niger gutta, chiquibul. However, like the supply of chicle, the supplies of these other natural resins have also been dwindling in the last decade.
Synthetic resins, such as polyvinyl acetate, and synthetic elastomers, such as polyisobutylene, have been incorporated into chewing gums for several years. Over the years, these synthetic compounds have been greatly refined in order to provide the exact physical properties needed in various types of chewing gum. For the most part, these synthetic compounds have very little if any flavor. At present, some chewing gum products are manufactured with bases having the natural resins supplemented with synthetic compounds. Other chewing gum products are manufactured with a base having no natural resins at all.
One disadvantage of replacing all of the natural resins in a chewing gum product is that it causes a change in the flavor profile of the gum base, and thus effects the flavor of the chewing gum. In particular, it is believed that the natural resins include trace quantities of compounds, including impurities, that have an effect on the overall flavor of the gum base. As a result, natural gum base is typically perceived as richer, deeper, and more earthy than a synthetic gum base.
The problems caused by this flavor change are exacerbated if the particular chewing gum product is one that has been on the market for several years and thus has a long-standing standard flavor.